Aboriginal Art Bark Painting: A bark painting is one which is painted on the interior of a piece of tree bark, and is an ancient Aboriginal form of ceremonial art. Today, it is coveted by art collectors and public art institutions alike. Ancient bark paintings are meant to symbolize an artists clan or "skin" and was used to paint the body for rituals and ceremonies. The modern form of bark painting first appeared in the 1930s when missionaries requested these paintings from the Yolngu people in order sell them in New South Wales and Victoria. Bark painting has been regarded as a fine art since the 1980s. Exceptional bark painting artists are recognized annually at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in Australia.
Elements of the Bark Painting
Ground: covered with a layer of ochre; usually red or white, rarely yellow or black.
Border: if present, usually yellow. Until around 1933, only paintings with clan designs had borders. Today, the can be found on any bark painting.
Feature Blocks: separated by dividing lines and each feature block in a given painting is different from the others. They are meant to tell part of the whole story of the painting.
Figurative Designs: resemble a real or mythological creature or object; an abstract as part of the story.
Geometric Designs: unique to the artist's symbolistic intent (i.e. a circle may represent anything, from a water hole or campsite, to an egg or a nut based on the artist's intent).
Clan Designs: sacred, and initially didn't appear on public paintings (though today, some can be seen in public). Can be a combination of symbols unique to the clan, geometric designs, and cross-hatching.
Cross Hatching: one of the most distinctive aspects of Yolngu bark paintings; closely spaced fine lines painted in different colors and intersecting each other.
Canvas & Modern Art
Classical Aboriginal artist Emily Kngwarreye was one of many who helped revolutionize the aesthetic of modern Aboriginal paintings until her death in 1996. Some of her canvas work:
"My Yam Country"
"The Anoorlaya Yam"
"Summer Season"
Utopia: the Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Australian aboriginal symbols represent the divine Djanggawul emerging from the vaginal sun. Pacific islanders openly portray erotic love in art, music, and dance. Maori ceremonial houses depict copulating ancestors and gods in large intricate wood carvings. Vulvas were included in tattoo designs of the Easter Islanders. Australians were also known for their prehistoric art, being comprised of "rock art."
Bark Painting: A bark painting is one which is painted on the interior of a piece of tree bark, and is an ancient Aboriginal form of ceremonial art. Today, it is coveted by art collectors and public art institutions alike. Ancient bark paintings are meant to symbolize an artists clan or "skin" and was used to paint the body for rituals and ceremonies. The modern form of bark painting first appeared in the 1930s when missionaries requested these paintings from the Yolngu people in order sell them in New South Wales and Victoria. Bark painting has been regarded as a fine art since the 1980s. Exceptional bark painting artists are recognized annually at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in Australia.
Elements of the Bark Painting
- Ground: covered with a layer of ochre; usually red or white, rarely yellow or black.
- Border: if present, usually yellow. Until around 1933, only paintings with clan designs had borders. Today, the can be found on any bark painting.
- Feature Blocks: separated by dividing lines and each feature block in a given painting is different from the others. They are meant to tell part of the whole story of the painting.
- Figurative Designs: resemble a real or mythological creature or object; an abstract as part of the story.
- Geometric Designs: unique to the artist's symbolistic intent (i.e. a circle may represent anything, from a water hole or campsite, to an egg or a nut based on the artist's intent).
- Clan Designs: sacred, and initially didn't appear on public paintings (though today, some can be seen in public). Can be a combination of symbols unique to the clan, geometric designs, and cross-hatching.
- Cross Hatching: one of the most distinctive aspects of Yolngu bark paintings; closely spaced fine lines painted in different colors and intersecting each other.
Canvas & Modern ArtAustralian aboriginal symbols represent the divine Djanggawul emerging from the vaginal sun. Pacific islanders openly portray erotic love in art, music, and dance. Maori ceremonial houses depict copulating ancestors and gods in large intricate wood carvings. Vulvas were included in tattoo designs of the Easter Islanders.
Australians were also known for their prehistoric art, being comprised of "rock art."
Links and Additional Information
Indigenous Austrailian Art (Ancient):
http://nma.gov.au/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_art
La Grange in Switzerland:
http://www.fondation-bf.ch/html/la_grange/francais/musee_la_grange.html
Classical Aboriginal Art:
http://www.aboriginal-art.com/desert_art_toc.html
*Emily Kngwarreye*
Non-Aboriginal Artists/Modern Australian Art:
http://www.galeriaaniela.com.au/Australian%20artists.htm